variables
by veryblargh
Summary: After multiple trips back to the beginning, Max Caulfield comes across a circumstance that had never been seen before in the realities she's been through: A boy who can see past time and his all-knowing sister. AU Episode 5 SPOILERS


**This literally had been stewing in my mind. Both Gravity Falls and Life is Strange takes place in Oregon, so I was like "Why tf not" so here it is. I myself am quite unsure how this will go, but I'll probably have something planned out by the 2nd or 3rd chapter...**

 **Also , just so people are aware, this is has some Episode 5 SPOILERS, you have been warned. This is also AU, so while in canon Max's powers lets her go back for only a small amount of time before she goes back to the changed future, this will have a more Puella Magi Madoka Magica thing going on where she has to relive the whole week over again.**

 **Sounds horrible, but Homura Akemi had to go through that as well.**

 **I don't own Life is Strange or Gravity Falls.**

* * *

"...has taken what you kids call a 'selfie'…"

Max breathed deeply, willing her eyes to go dry. She failed, again. She blinked, ignoring the threatening tears about to fall from her eyes. She looked off to the side. She can't bear to look at the psychopath lecturing her class at the moment. Her eyes landed on Kate Marsh hunched form. Gritting her teeth, Max turned the other way. Unfortunately, Victoria Chase decided that moment to turn and glare at her. The other girl faltered, as if confused, but frowned at her and looked back at the teacher. ' _I must have looked terrible_ ,' Max thought. ' _That she had to look away first_.'

"Max?" The same question. Again.

She glanced at Jefferson, and scoffed. "Who cares? This class is hella bullshit."

"I'll pretend you didn't say that, and let you try to answer one more-"

KNOCK KNOCK

Max jumped. This had never happened in all the other pasts she'd been to. Jefferson turned to the door and exclaimed," Ah yes, the new students."

' _New students_?' Max's eyes flitted to the door, where she saw three people peeking in. A blonde girl rivaling Victoria's self-confidence stood between two brunettes, a boy and a girl, who looked a bit alike. Must be siblings.

"As you can see, three people will be joining our class starting today, although it may be a bit too late," Jefferson waved the new students in.

"Sorry," the brunette girl said, looking too cheerful to be actually sorry. Her smile glinted curiously as much as the braces in her teeth. "Our car broke down and we had to walk."

"I see, well, there's only a few moments left in class, but you can take a seat wherever you want. The two brunettes looked around, but the blonde tugged both of them towards the same table as Alyssa, the only table big enough to fit three of them together.

"Now, Victoria, I'll entrust you with showing the ropes in this class to our new additions."

Max saw Victoria's eyebrows twitch, probably unsure of whether she should be glad to be relied on by the teacher, or annoyed at having to deal with newbies. Just as Jefferson was about to revert his attention back to Max, the bell had rung. Max hid her smirk behind her hair when she turned to put her things away. She ignored the teacher's reminders about the photo contest, his voice grating into her brain. God she hated him.

"Hey, are you okay?"

It was the brunette girl, standing over Kate, who blinked owlishly up at her. "You look like Dipper after 3 days of mountain climbing! Except you're not sweaty." She childishly formed circles with her fingers around her eyes.

"I-I'm-"

"Oh, Dipper's this awkward looking dork over here," she interrupted, waving a hand at the boy, who was busy typing furiously in his phone. "I'm Mabel, with a 'bel'. Sometimes people people call me Maple, like the syrup, but I respond to both. Dipper's my twin brother. Cool right? But i was born first, so I'm the alpha twin. And that's Pacifica. She doesn't really want to be here, but she thinks 18 is an acceptable age to start rebelling against her parents-"

"Mabel, you don't have to tell everyone's life stories," the blonde girl, Pacifica, said, face flushed. "Why can't you greet people normally?" She stood and approached Kate, and held out her hand. "Hi, Pacifica Northwest. Is it just me or is this school have some really low-standards?"

The boy, Dipper, finally looked up from his phone. "Pacifica, you think everything is low-standard."

Poor Kate looked confused. ' _I probably would too, if someone just started talking to me that way_ ,' Max thought. She noticed the time and panicked. She had to get to the washroom immediately! She quickly grabbed her bag and rushed out, only to be stopped by the Jefferson himself.

"I see you Max Caulfield. Don't even think about leaving here until we talk about your entry."

Max scowled and turned back to him. "It's in my dorm. I'll get it to you as soon as I can," she lied. ' _I'll get it to you so you'll have something to look at while you rot in prison, you bastard_ ,' she added in her mind.

"Get it here today then. You know where to find me." He smiled at her, and she repressed a shiver of disgust. "I'd never let one of photography's future stars avoid handing in her picture."

Great. Max bit her lip. She really needed to get out of there already. "Yeah, I'll give you a picture that you deserve, as a teacher." ' _As the worst teacher ever_.'

Before he could reply, she had already turned and walked out of there. Weaving through the groups of students loitering in the hallways, she ran past, only one name in her mind. ' _Chloe. Chloe. Chloe_.'

Just as she reached the door and was about to turn the knob, she heard a muffled gunshot. Max froze, a chill crawling down her spine. She slammed the door open to see Nathan Prescott freaking out with a gun on his hand and Chloe bleeding on the ground. She had been too late.

She raised her hand and willed herself to go back again.

* * *

KNOCK KNOCK

This is the second time they have appeared in her past now. But this time, she won't let them distract her.

"Take a seat wherever you want."

Footsteps. And they were nearing her. She looked up to see the three students standing right in front of her, instead of taking the seats beside Alyssa just as they had done before. A hand came down within her sight, and placed a small hourglass on her table. She can distinctly see cracks forming on the glass, though the sand inside remains unaffected, trickling slowly. Cautious, Max slowly met her eyes with the person standing directly at her. It was the boy. Dipper. A feel of dread came over her as she stared into his eyes.

The eyes that were one part brown and normal shaped, and the other part elongated black surrounded with yellow.

"Hello," he said, his black and yellow eye boring deep into her, "My name is Dipper Pines. How do you do?"


End file.
